CINCINNATI (WKRC) - Legal recreational marijuana sales could cost you more than money; they could also cost you your job.
Ohio companies aren't required to change their drug policies now that it's legal.
Employment Attorney Matthew Okiishi said to not change what you are doing; if you have been avoiding marijuana use to keep your job, keep avoiding it. He said that if you had been using it anyway, you're still doing so at your own risk.
"Continue the same practices that you previously had. You didn't have photos taken with your dealer; maybe don't have photos taken outside the dispensary. You didn't show up to work blatantly high. Don't show up to work blatantly high now that it's recreationally legal. Don't talk about your stoner escapades at work," said Okiishi.
Okiishi said that you can still be terminated over a failed drug test or suspected marijuana use if it's in your company's policy.
"The law is pretty clear that if you're terminated for failure to drug test, you're going to be considered to be terminated for what's called 'just cause' for employment purposes," Okiishi said.
Marijuana stays in your system longer than alcohol, so even if you use marijuana on the weekends, you can still be penalized. Okiishi said if it's readable on a drug test, they can legally fire you. He said that there are drug tests that don't test for weed, but he doesn't expect many companies to change their policies.
"It's going to really be industry-to-industry. I think that I wouldn't expect too much movement, though. I think companies will continue to maintain a zero-tolerance policy. I think they will continue to retain the right to conduct random drug tests," Okiishi said.
Overall, he said that if someone gets fired for failing a drug test for marijuana, this recreational law in Ohio doesn't protect them.